Dreamworks cut at J.P. Morgan on lower DVD shelf life

AudeLagorce

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- J.P. Morgan downgraded Dreamworks Animations, Inc.
dwa
to underweight from neutral, saying it believes issues in home video are secular in nature and reduce the long-term earnings power of computer-generated animated films. The broker told clients it believes the recent preannouncements from Dreamworks and Pixar
pixr
reflect the flood of DVD product that had led to a shorter retail shelf life for each title and lower units sold per title. "This trend disproportionately hurts computer-generated animated film studios which cannot offset this dynamic given limited output," the broker concluded.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.